A survey conducted by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has revealed that Ghanaians do not think corruption could be eradicated in the country and that the canker has become part and parcel of the Ghanaian society.

The survey, which sampled 1500 people from all parts of the country, quoted 24% of them as saying that corruption is like DNA in the blood of Ghanaians.

At a forum to discuss the findings in Accra yesterday, Joseph Atsu-Ayee, Professor/Adjunct Senior Fellow at IEA said of the 1500 respondents, 60% and 40% were females and males respectively.

In the report, about 44% respondents said corruption could be reduced to a limited degree. About 19% argued that it could be substantially reduced, while 4.7% believed it could be eradicated completely.

Professor Atsu noted that, corruption attracts attention because of its debilitating and corrosive effects on politics, governance, economy, society and security. According to him, effort to bury corruption has not been successful because of how people understand the root cause of corruption.

"Strategies to curb corruption have failed, because we have misunderstood the roots of corruption. Understanding the root causes of corruption is key in dealing with corruption," he remarked.

He further noted that, the problem with Ghana had to do with the individual, citing that "Ghanaians are acquisitive and materialistic. If you want to live good, work for it."

His comment follows argument by some of the respondents that the corruption in the system was as a result of low salaries paid workers in the country. But the Professor debunked that assertion, saying "if you increase the salaries they will still be corrupt."

Ironically, the police are alleged to be the most corrupt institution in the country, but the survey revealed that Ghanaians still have confidence in them. According to the report, 87% of the respondents stated that they would report any case of corruption to the police before any other person or institution.

The survey, which was conducted amongst Ghanaians aged 18 and above indicated that 52% of the respondents got their information on corruption from the media. However, 35% of the respondents, between the ages of 18 and 24 said they would give bribe to make sure they got what they wanted.

At the same programme, Former Commissioner of the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Justice Emile Short, who was the chairman for the event, said corruption, seemed to have lost it stigmatization.

He said living good and living in poverty does not create room for corruption. "The poor can survive without corruption. Those surviving are rather those engaged in serious corruption," he noted.

He, therefore, kicked against the limitation of corruption to only bribery and that must also it includes embezzlement and others.

"Corruption arises when the systems are weak. So to fight corruption, there should be a robust system where leaders are able to work in the interest of the country," he opined.

The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) has taken two international banks to courtseeking to recover over $3.3 billion (11 trillion shillings) that the oil-producing country lost in 'bad deals' that were initiated by the banks during former President Muammar Gaddafi's reign.

LIA is attempting to recover $1.2 billion (about 4 trillion shillings) from a U.S investment bank, Goldman Sachs and another $2.1 billion (almost 7 trillion shillings) from French bank, Societe Generale. The country's Sovereign Wealth Fund alleges that the two banks advised it to enter risky deals in 2008 that ended up being worthless. The hearing of one of the cases resumed in London in June 2016, with LIA's lawyers accusing Goldman Sachs executives of taking its officials on luxurious trips to Morocco and Dubai in order to influence their investment decisions. One witness in court claimed that the trips were laden with 'heavy drinking and girls'.

Key in the case is Goldman Sach's relationship with Haitem Zarti, a brother to Mustafa Zarti who was LIA's second-in-command at the time. The bank is said to have paid for Zarti's lavish trip to Dubai and later offered him an internship placement at their headquarters in New York. The Fund's lawyers now argue that the Bank's treatment of Haitem Zarti biased his brother to stake the fortunes of the $67 billion Fund in a series of bad deals.

Happier times: Late Col. Gaddafi's son, Saif-Al-Islam Gaddafi.

The second case against Societe Generale is expected to commence in early 2017 but there are indications that the Fund's lawyers will attempt to link the bad deals to bribery and influence peddling involving the first family, particularly Gaddafi's son, Saif Gaddafi.

But what made Libya's Sovereign Wealth Fund so susceptible to manipulation? During Col. Muammar Gaddafi's four decade reign, opacity dominated management of the country's Petroleum Fund, allowing unchecked corruption to thrive. Patronage, family links and political influence were much more important than institutionalised, competence-based investment decision making. Hence, the Fund was often manipulated into investing billions of US dollars in risky assets managed by political friends or allies of the regime. Transparency, independent oversight, clarity of rules and political will eluded Libya, resulting in mismanagement of the resources and potentially causing avoidable losses that form the basis of the cases in court today.

The Libyan case provides a good example of how Sovereign Wealth Funds can be vulnerable to abuse by overbearing governments, unless they have strong, independent governance structures and sufficient corruption control mechanisms. For Uganda, the case comes at an opportune time, since the country is operationalizing the Petroleum Fund as established by The Public Finance Management Act, 2015(PFMA). In some ways, the law attempts to address key issues necessary to ensure good governance of revenues expected from Uganda's nascent oil and gas sector.

However, a number of loopholes exist in the law which, if not addressed, would expose Uganda to the perils Libya has witnessed. Unless regulations for the Act, once issued, offer more clarity, Uganda's Petroleum Fund could end up like that of Libya.

Firstly, reading through that Act, it is not clear what the objectives of the Petroleum Fund are. While the Act alludes to the Fund helping to support budget stability [Section 58 (a) and Section 63 (2)] as well as providing heritage for future generations [Section 64 (3) & (4)], neither of these is clearly stated as its objective. This lack of clarity of objectives presents difficulty for policy makers in terms of giving policy direction in form of operational rules for the fund. It also remains difficult to decide the sort of assets the savings can be invested in and therefore the nature of restrictions that should be put in place for government to access the Fund.

If, on one hand, the Fund is to play a stabilising role, a significant chunk of the money should be invested in liquid assets that can easily be accessed in case of budget shortfalls, like bonds. On the other hand, if the Fund is to serve as a heritage for future generations, restrictions for accessing it have to be made tighter, for example by requiring that the money be invested in long term assets like real estate. Where the Fund has a dual function, this should also be clearly stipulated in law or the regulations.

Secondly, the PFMA presents a possibility of conflict of powers between the Minister of Finance and Bank of Uganda or an external Fund Manager appointed by the Bank over the choice of investments into which the Fund's money may be committed. Whereas section 63 (2) (C) gives power to the Minister to prescribe an instrument into which the Fund's finances may be invested, section 64 (1) vests operational management responsibilities in the Bank of Uganda. Again, Section (64) (6) also leaves it to Bank of Uganda to establish risk management arrangements for the instruments to be used in the management of funds in the Petroleum Investment Reserve. This could result in conflict in the case of Bank of Uganda rejecting an instrument prescribed by the Minister for investment of the Fund's money, even if that may have been done on a technically sound basis.

In addition, the Act falls short of clarifying, in terms of jurisdiction, where funds in the Petroleum Revenue Investment Reserve shall be invested. Although Section 63(2) mentions that the money shall be invested in internationally convertible currency deposit or a debt instrument denominated in internationally convertible currency, it remains silent on whether these investments are to be made in the domestic economy or abroad. Different lessons from the Management of the Government Pension Fund of Norway show that investing petroleum revenues abroad protects domestic industries (and economy), diversifies risk and maximises returns.

However, the choice of that 'international investment' and how the decision to invest in it is made, are very crucial and that is where the Libyans got it wrong. They now claim that they were hoodwinked by street smart bank executives to invest in risky ventures that resulted in billions of dollars in losses.

Yet the Fund should have had their own professional advisors to assess the risks and decide accordingly. In any case, Norway invests the bulk of monies in her Fund in stock markets in the USA. However, because of a more streamlined investment decision making mechanism, when Norway lost hundreds of millions of dollars in the 2008 economic downturn, it was easier to attribute the losses to the global economic downturn and not mismanagement. Uganda should, therefore, consider investing in more developed financial markets abroad to secure the best returns and protect her economy against over-heating, while ensuring that independent investment decision making procedures are followed.

However, Uganda's PFMA (2015) lacks provision for independent third party oversight over the Fund's operations, a cardinal principal in ensuring transparency and accountability in the way funds are managed. Third party oversight is critical in exerting public pressure on policy makers and fund managers to ensure open decision making as a guarantee for integrity in the way natural resource funds are managed.

In Ghana, the Public Interest and Accountability Committee's (PIAC) May 2012 report revealed that the Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC) was retaining large amounts of petroleum revenues that threatened to grow the petroleum sector at the expense of other sectors. The report also revealed that the Ministry of Finance had overestimated corporate income taxes by nearly 100 percent in order to create extra fiscal space for government and legitimise greater spending under the country's laws.

Although Ghana's PIAC has been constrained by lack of funds and mandate to implement its recommendations, its experience underscores the need for Uganda to ensure third party oversight if our revenues are to be managed in a transparent manner.

Globally, Norway offers the best lessons given that they have been exemplary in running their extractives sector. Several similar funds around the world have been successful as well. It is estimated that worldwide, sovereign wealth funds hold assets in excess of three trillion dollars. Information on some of the natural resource funds globally is shown in the table below:

Country Fund name Year established Estimated value of assets

Norway Government Pension Fund Global 1990 $850 billion

Saudi Arabia SAMA Foreign Holdings 1952 $730 billion

Public Investment Fund 1971 $5.3 billion

Abu Dhabi (UAE) Abu Dhabi Investment Authority 1976 $773 billion

International Petroleum Investment Authority 1984 $68.4 billion

Mubadala Development Company 2002 $60.9 billion

Kuwait Kuwait Investment Authority 1953 $400 billion

Qatar Qatar Investment Authority 2005 $175 billion

Russia National Welfare Fund 2004 $87.9 billion

Reserve Fund 2004 $87.3 billion

Algeria Revenue Regulation Fund 2000 $70.9 billion

Dubai (UAE) Investment Corporation of Dubai 2006 $160 billion

Ghana Ghana Heritage Fund 2011 $0.13 billion

Ghana Stabilization Fund 2011 $0.32 billion

Botswana Paula Fund 1994 $5.7 billion

Nigeria Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority 2011 $0.98 billion

Adapted from Andrew Bauer, 'Managing the public trust: How to make natural resource funds work for citizens', 2014.

Uganda too can join this elite club in a decade or so. However, the politicians need to let the proposed Petroleum Fund function independently and only allow for independent third party oversight over its operations.

Chris Musiime is the Managing Editor, Oil in Uganda while Gerald Byarugaba is a Research Associate, Advocates Coalition for Development & Environment (ACODE) and a 2014 PETRAD Fellow.

What struck me most was his analogy of how many lives and properties could be lost if Ethiopia and Eritrea were to embark on yet another atrocious war at a time when both countries have other more urgent responsibilities to carry out. I am not sure if we have forgotten the 1998-2000 Badime conflict, when Ethiopians from all parts of the country were shoving shoulder to shoulder, queuing up forcibly to be taken to the war front, when the short recruitment time was finished. I have never seen such kind of voluntary dedication and commitment to reply to the call of the motherland.

Ato Abay, it can be said, has become the real navigator, sitting on the navigational tower behind the pilot to guide the plane. This is only to be expected from the chief guide, rather than the Prime Minister sitting behind the steering wheel.

War is never as cheap and simple as a luxurious weekend pastime or something one can do away with. The Badime engagement was a civil war in which over 70 thousand people paid with their dear lives. What was regrettable was the agreement signed in Algiers as a lasting agreement that is never to be appealed.

The decision of the agreement was rather difficult to understand. Would that kind of a national call be met with a similar response?

In this regard, Ato Abay's speculations about the consequences could be taken as a wiser guess. There are many political observers who tend not to believe what he says judging from previous experiences. But then there are chances that he could prove what he says to be true if he could convince some of the other high notch TPLF officials. He could then use the leverage of his advisory post to progress step by step towards resuming negotiations with Eritrean officials as soon as possible.

Sixteen years is too long a period of time to tolerate waiting in a "no war, no peace" deadlock. Ato Abay should carefully review where things went wrong. On the part of the President of Eritrea, Isayas Afeworki, he should try to keep up with the present situations and be able to make good for the generation of tomorrow. It is about time that leaders of both countries came to their senses and realised that the demands of the 21st century are not yet obsolete. There is still enough time to make unforgettable history for both their peoples, respectively.

The basic heritage

our forbearers have bequeathed us with is not only the goal to be free from the yoke of colonialism and exploitation by our former colonial powers. but to be completely free to form a United States of Africa.

There are no countries better than Ethiopia and Eritrea to take the first practical and reliable step towards an integrated political and economic union in this part of Africa. This could be in the form of a confederation or some kind of union, to be agreed upon.

The way to start this move could simply be sitting around the table and working out some kind of road map to revitalising the ministerial commission, comprising political and trade commissioners, while discussing the possibilities of finding common ground in settling outstanding problems.

Should the two neighbouring countries decide to start negotiations, there is no better situation than the structural readiness of the two countries. There is the 1,080km road between them; Ethiopian Airlines could revive its former daily flight to Asmara; Ethiopians and Eritreans could make direct telephone calls between them.

The people along the border of both countries can exchange trade between them. Whether it is for emergency freight or the strength along the coast, the two nations can use the Assab and Massaw ports for the benefit of the two nations. We should ensure that the Red Sea is kept free from pirates, as was the case some time ago.

The United States government has brokered peace with Cuba after 60 years of isolation. I see no reason why Ethiopia and Eritrea cannot make peace between them.

Demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans and waved flags as they marched down Kinshasa's streets on Sunday, calling for President Joseph Kabila to resign after his term ends in late December.

Addressing tens of thousands of protesters, opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi said the electoral commission needed to be convened by September 19, the "first red line, which must not be crossed."

"The electoral body must be convened for the presidential election. If it is not, high treason will be proved in the person of Mr. Kabila, who will take responsibility for the misery of the Congolese people," said the 83-year-old leader.

Presidential polls are due to take place in November, but Kabila's government has said logistical problems may delay the vote.

In May, Congo's Constitutional Court ruled Kabila could remain in office in caretaker capacity beyond the end of his mandate. The ruling sparked fears that Kabila could try to extend his rule by a third term.

Tshesekedi credited with uniting opposition

Kabila, 45, took over as president of the country of 71 million people after his father was assassinated in 2001. He won a 2011 election against Tshisekedi, which critics say was marred by fraudulent practices.

Earlier this week Tshisekedi returned from Europe, where he had been undergoing medical treatment for two years. An immensely popular figure, he rose to prominence in the 1980s as a strong critic of former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. Today, Tshesekedi is credited with uniting the voice of the opposition in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Tshisekedi has also demanded an end to "arbitrary judicial cases" against opposition leaders like Moise Katumbi, who was sentenced in absentia to three years in jail for property fraud, making him ineligible to contest the upcoming presidential poll.

mg/cmk (AFP, Reuters)

When stroke victims are treated within the first four hours of an attack, they are more likely to recover completely or to face only limited disability. A new brain stroke unit in Cairo is designed to quickly treat more patients, but operating this unit will take the work of highly trained and skilled Egyptian healthcare professionals.

Located at the Kasr El Ainy hospital, this unit will play a vital role in improving health in the city, given that stroke is the  second leading cause of death in Egypt  and a major cause of disability globally –  particularly in developing countries such as Egypt .

GE Healthcare, which is equipping the unit with dozens of advanced respiratory care and patient monitoring devices, also is providing crucial training regarding the operation of this equipment to doctors, technicians, nurses and biomedical professionals. This will help optimize use of the new technologies and build local capabilities and know-how among Egyptian healthcare professionals.

With the average treatment cost of stroke reaching EGP 40,000; the newly launched brain stroke unit at Kasr El Ainy Hospital is one of the largest free-public units to serve a wide range of stroke patients across the Middle East.  The new unit will have 34 beds serving approximately 50,000 stroke patients .

With the combination of expert tools, advanced data delivered by this technology, and integrated training, GE Healthcare is helping to ensure that the brain stroke unit operates at the highest levels of clinical excellence.

GE provided 32 CARESCAPE B650 monitors, two B40i monitors and two Clinical Information Center (CIC) Pro patient monitors, in addition to (15) CARESCAPE R860 ventilators, which combine the latest technologies in respiratory care and patient monitoring with expert tools to help doctors provide tailored therapy for their patients. Additionally, GE's portfolio of patient monitoring solutions provided to Kasr El Ainy Hospital deliver advanced data needed for timely decision-making that can help doctors and clinicians reach the highest levels of clinical excellence.

Tamer Said, Regional Leader for GE Healthcare for North East Africa said: "We are proud to be working with Kasr El Ainy Hospital to provide technologies that can help reduce the mortality and disability rates of patients in Egypt. By providing our latest technologies to the hospital and training to healthcare professionals to use them, we are strengthening our longstanding relationship with the hospital and supporting their vision to make impact in the community."

The brain stroke unit is the latest example of GE's broad-based commitment to work with all its customers in Egypt to grow the technical, leadership and innovation skills and capabilities of employees and customers. Through trainings and workshops GE is helping Egyptians at many points in their careers to build their careers. This work also is developing the sophistication and competence of Egyptian industry, from energy and transportation to aviation and healthcare.

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Today, more than 14,400 GE Healthcare technologies are deployed across hospitals and clinics in Egypt.

This article first appeared on GE Hewar blog.

To wash your hands, to prepare food for dinner, to quench your thirst … they all take clean water. These and other crucial uses of drinking water are why the Hamma Seawater Desalination Plant in Algeria was this month honored with an international development award.

Algerian Energy Company, which owns the Hamma plant, was presented with the 2016 Impact Award in the Critical Infrastructure category by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation(OPIC), the U.S. government's development finance institution.

The plant – which was majority financed by GE and uses advanced GE reverse osmosis seawater desalination technology – first began supplying clean drinking water to hundreds of thousands of families in and around the capital city of Algiers in 2008.

"The Hamma Seawater Desalination Plant is critical to the people of our country," said Ahcene Ouzane, general manager of Algerian Energy Company. "Drought and extreme high demand for water forced our residents and businesses into frequent water rationing. The plant now provides a simple and economic solution that guarantees ongoing access to fresh water for Algerians."

OPIC's Impact Awards, now in its third year, recognize exceptional achievement in international private-sector development. Judges consider other criteria including the project's positive development impact and its ability to meet OPIC's high standards covering the environment and human rights, including worker's rights.

The plant produces 200,000 cubic meters/day (53 million gallons/day) of clean drinking water. The largest desalination plant in Africa at the time it was built, the Hamma Seawater Desalination Plant was the first reverse osmosis desalination plant in Africa to be funded by public and private investment. GE also was awarded a 25-year contract to operate and maintain the plant.

Algerian Energy Company (AEC) is a joint-venture owned equally by Sonatrach and Sonelgaz, responsible for the promotion of strategic scale with national and international partnerships in the energy sector. AEC is responsible for 13 seawater desalination stations including 11 in operation to achieve the capacity of 2.1 million m3/day, and the acquisition of interests in three power plants with 2,375 MWh in scope.

This version of the article first appeared on GE Hewar Blog

Tanzania is expected to benefit from a boost in hydropower generation and irrigation development thanks to a new study financed by the African Water Facility (AWF). This €2-million grant will help the government of Tanzania launch the pre-feasibility study of a multipurpose dam, irrigation and hydropower project in Kikonge (southwest).

A comprehensive approach. The study will cover the irrigation scheme, agro-business development, the dam and its reservoir and the associated hydropower plant and the high voltage transmission line. In addition, this study will also encompass water supply to local communities, local electricity supply through a mini hydro-power plant, fishing activities, tourism development and other uses of water for activities in the reservoir area (navigation, transport and water for mining).

A huge increase in hydropower generation. When completed, the 300-MW multipurpose dam, which is the main outcome of the studies, will result in a 53% increase of the country’s hydropower capacity. With an annual hydropower generation of 1,300 GWh by 2025, the dam will address Tanzania’s long-standing shortage of power supply. The country’s hydropower plants of the run-of-the-river type are highly vulnerable to seasonal variations and drastic variations of water availability as a consequence of climate change. In October 2015, most of the hydropower plants, representing 35% of the country total generating capacity, had been switched off due to the low water levels following an extended period without rain. With its storage reservoir of 6 billion m³capacity, the dam will allow a stable supply of energy throughout the year.

Improved agriculture. The expected dam on the Ruhuhu River will also improve availability of water resources for irrigation and associated activities in the area. With a projected irrigation scheme of 4,000 hectares by 2020 (as against a current mere 50 ha of irrigated lands), the dam will boost agricultural productivity and provide additional revenues to local farmers and populations. In this southwestern region of Tanzania, close to the shores of the Lake Nyasa, crop production is currently dominated by rain-fed systems leaving the irrigation potential marginally tapped. While agriculture is the basis of Tanzanian economy (27% of the national GDP), its development is hampered by its dependence on unreliable and irregular weather conditions. Irrigation has therefore been identified as a key priority for Tanzania, which has huge potential for irrigated agriculture with its numerous rivers, lakes and underground water resources.

Climate change impacts. The investment project resulting from the feasibility studies will also help improve the resilience to climate change. Regulating the flow of the Ruhuhu River will allow water to be available throughout the year instead of depending on the rain season inflows. It will also reduce the impacts and damages of floods on infrastructures and economic activities, with positive impacts on the ecological features of the shores of the Lake Nyasa.

Project details. The total cost of the Kikonge Multipurpose Dam, Irrigation and Hydropower Project pre-feasibility study is estimated at €2.5 million. The AWF will fund the project to the tune of €2 million, with contributions from the Climate Resilient Infrastructure Development Facility and the government of €0.3 million and €0.2 million respectively. The project duration is estimated at 22 months.

The African Development Bank's Agriculture and Agro-industry Department (OSAN) in conjunction with the Ministry for the Promotion of Youth, Youth Employment, and Civic Engagement of Côte d'Ivoire held a workshop at the Bank in Abidjan on 8 July to reflect on the imperatives for the successful implementation of ENABLE Youth-Cote d'Ivoire (CI).

One of the flagship programs of OSAN'S Feed Africa: Strategy for Agricultural Transformation in Africa 2016-2025, ENABLE Youth seeks to train the next generation of agriculture entrepreneurs, or "agripreneurs". The program, which is part of the AfDB's wider Jobs for Youth Program, seeks to build the capacity of young graduates between the ages of 18-35 to start businesses along the 18 priority value chains identified in the Feed Africa strategy.

The Bank will work in close collaboration with the Consultative Group for International Agriculture Research to place young graduates in incubation centers where they will received skills training on the priority value chains. The graduates will then be provided with assistance in developing bankable business plans and obtaining financing to launch their enterprises.

To further contribute to the success of the agripreneurs, the Bank will concomitantly work with its regional member countries to foster an enabling environment that clarifies land tenure, facilitates market access, creates incentives, eases regulations, and improves access to credit. In view of the 30 regional member countries, including Côte D'Ivoire, who have already expressed interest in the program, ENABLE Youth will seek to create 300,000 agricultural enterprises and 1.5 million jobs for youths across Africa over the next five years.

The workshop, attended by over 70 participants from Côte d'Ivoire's public and private sectors, civil society organizations, university and research centers, as well as various Bank departments, sought to build momentum and crystallize stakeholder ownership of ENABLE Youth-CI. The workshop included presentations, speeches and panel discussions.